Gravel washer and silt grader



Aug 5, 1941. A. HALvoRsoN j GARAVEL WASHER AND SILT GRADER Filed Aug.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug 5 194k A. HAM/ORSON 2,251,449

GRAVEL WASHER AND SILT GRADER Filed Aug. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gba/ocmw Autun H abro? s on atroz/wm Patented Aug. 5, 1941 liti lira? .E

orifice @TRAVEL WASHER AND SlLT GRAD/ER Pinnun Halvcrsori, Butte, N. Dak. Application August 7, 1939, Serial No. 288,792

Claims.

My invention relates to gravel washers and silt graders and has for an object to provide a washer by means of which dust, |sand and other relatively fine foreign material may be removed from the gravel.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a gravel Washer and silt grader in which the material removed therefrom may be graded and classified according to neness.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a gravel washer and silt grader by means of which foreign material containing metal de positsmay be removed from the gravel.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a gravel washer which will be extremely efficient in operating and positive in action.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illus trated and/or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a gravel washer and silt grader illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevational sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 1. l `My invention comprises a framework indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral it. This framework includes two horizontally disposed base members II and a cross base member I2 overlying the same. Secured to these base members are uprighlts I3 and it which are disu posed at the ends of the base member i2 and near thecenters of the base members l I. IThe various parts are bolted or otherwise secured together to form a rigidconstruction. At the uppermost portion of the framework It is provided an upper cross frame member I5 which is similarly secured to fthe upper ends of the up rights I3y and Ill. Gusset plates It are attached to the uprights I3 and It and the cross members AI2 and I 5 to stillen and reinforce the framework. The entire framework may rest upon any suit able support or be supported in any other suitable manner.

The invention utilizes a tubular shaft il which is provided at its lower end with a solid shaft extension I8. This shaft extension has secured to the same one of the races of a roller bearing I9. The other race of this bearing is mounted in a socket 2| formed in a bead plate 22 secured to the cross. frame member I2. This bearing serves as a combination radial an-d end thrust bearing and supports the various mechanism op erated thereby as well as the gravel to be washed in a manner to be presently described in detail. The other end of this shaft has attached to it a tubular shaft extension 23 which is rigidly secured thereto. This shaft extension is journaled in a bearing 2d which is attached to the upper cross frame member I5. The extension 23 has a bore 25 through it which communicates with the bore 26 of the shaft I '1. i

Encircling the shaft Il is a drum El which is constructed with a tapering circumferential wall 23 and a bottom 29 connected therewith. Issuing upwardly from the tapering wall 28 is a cylindrical wall 3l which is open at the top. The bottom 29 is Welded or otherwise secured to the shaft I 'I whereby the lowermost portion ofthe drum is centered relative to the shaft and supported `and driven thereby. For the purpose of supporting fthe uppermost portion of the drum two chains 32 are employed which are wrapped about the shaft I1 and which extend radially of the drum. The ends of these chains are attached to threaded spindles 33 which extend through the circumferential wall 28 of the drum and which have nuts 34 screwed upon the same exteriorially of fthe drum. When these nuts are screwed down the chains are tightened and the uppermost portion of the drum securely held in place. These chains also center the drum 21 relative to shaft Il and maintain the drum in balance. Extending across the open upper lend of the drum is a rcover 35 Which may be bolted to an .angular flange 36, seciued to the cylindrical wall 3l, whereby the open end of the drum may be closed. Below the bottom 29, drum 2l is provided with a cylindrical wall I i8 to the lowerrnost portion of which is secured a false bottom Il'. By means of this construction a chamber It is formed in the lower part of the drum. Y

The cover 35 carries at the center thereof a tubular neck 31. This neck is held in position by means of a number of set screws 38 which are threaded into an upstanding flange 39 formed on said cover. By means of this construction an annular space 4I is provided between fthe said neck and cover, the purpose of which will be presently described. Situated above the neck 3l is a funnel 42 which has a spout 63 extending downwardly intoy the neck 3l. The funnel 42 is attached by means of angles 154 to the cross frame member I5 of framework I 0 and is of sullicient dimensions to project outwardly beyond the said cross` member to permit of feeding gravel into the same. It will readily be comprehended that any substance directed into this funnel is discharged into the interior of the drum 21. For the purpose of preventing silt from entering between '.the spout 43 and neck 31 I employ two fingers 48 which are attached to spout i3 and depend into neck 31.

For the purpose of delivering the gravel to be washed to the machine, a conveyor is employed. This conveyor consists of two longitudinal frame members 45, connected together at their ends and provided with bearings i1 adapted to journal two transverse shafts 88. These shafts have mounted upon them pulleys or sprockets i9 over which an endless belt 5i travels. The belt 5| may be provided with slats if desired, or where the conveyor is at a relatively ilat angle the :slats may be dispensed with. The material deposited upon the belt 5i is carried upwardly and discharged from the upper end thereof. The lower end of the frame i5 is supported on legs 52 and the upper end of the said frame is supported on brackets 5&3 attached to the cross frame member I5. A spout 55, at the discharge end of the conveyor, directs ne gravel elevated by the same into the funnel A measuring device 58, of any desired type, may

be used in conjunction with the conveyor' to deliver to the conveyor predetermined charges of gravel to be washed in the device.

Water is fed into the interior of the drum 21 by means of a pipe 51 which may be connected to :,A

any suitable water supply system and controlled by valves or other means now available for the purpose.

Within the interior of the cylindrical portion 8| of drum 21 is provided a receptacle 53 which has i.

an annular radial wall 59 at the bottom of the same and a cylindrical wall 5| connected thereto. This receptacle is supported on brackets 62 attached to the interior of the drum Z1. The wall 6| is of considerably smaller dimensions than the cylindrical portion 3| of drum 21 so that a space 63 is afforded between said drum receptacle. At the innermost periphery of the annular wall 59 is a flange which projects upwardly therefrom.

Within the receptacle 58 is another receptacle 68 constructed in a similar manner and formed with a cylindrical wall and an annular radial wall 65 extending inwardly therefrom. A ange 61 projects upwardly from the innermost periphery of the annular wall 65. Annular wall 55 is at tached to the cylindrical wall 65 above the lowermost edge thereof so that, when the receptacle 58 is disposed within the receptacle 53, the lowermost end of the wall 55 rests upon the wall 59 and holds the wall 66 in the position shown in Fig. 2. Within the interior of the receptacle 5d is disposed another receptacle 68 identical in construction with the receptacle 64, which latter receptacle has a cylindrical wall 69 resting upon the annular wall 68 and which further has an annular radial wall 1| and a flange 12issuing upwardly fromV the inner periphery thereof. A cover 11 resting upon the upper ends of the cylindrical walls of the various receptacles and formed with a packing joint 18 encircling the neck 31 closes the various receptacles and forms a tight joint between the neck and receptacles. By means of theconstruction shown, a number of narrow passages 14 and 15 are provided between the various receptacles and a larger passageway 15 at the uppermost portion of the receptacle 68.

At the lowermost portion of the receptacle 58 is provided a number of discharge tubes 8| which pass directly through the walls 55 and 5| of the receptacles 58 and 68 and also through the cylindrical wall 3| of drum 21. Similarly at the lowermost portion of the receptacle 64 are provided tubes 82 which likewise pass through the various walls of the receptacles. At the lowermost portion of the receptacle 68 are similar tubes 83. All of these tubes communicate with the interiors of the receptacles and discharge outwardly of the drum 21 and are suitably packed to prevent undue leakage around the same.

Encircling the uppermost portion of the drum 21 is a cylindrical case 88 which is attached to the uprights B3 and ifi of framework I5. This case is constructed with a conical annular bottom and with two spaced conical annular partitions 88 and 81 extending toward the drum 21. These partitions are arranged to provide chambers 88, 89 and 9| within said case. The partitions 88 and 81 and the bottom 85 are so arranged that the tubes 8| discharge into the chamber 88, the tubes 82 discharge into the chamber 89 and the tubes 83 discharge into the chamber 9 i. The upper end of the case is open and at the marginal portion of the same is provided with an inwardly extending lip 92 and a downwardly projecting flange 83 which prevents splashing of water or other material out of the case. The innermost portion of the bottom 85 is constructed with an upwardly extending flange gli which, similar to the ange 53, prevents splashing of the material deposited in the chamber 83 out of the case 88. Similar anges 98 on the portions 85 and 81 serve a like purpose.

For draining the chambers 88, 88 and 93 a number of drain pipes |36, |31 and |38 are employed. These drain pipes lead to suitable reservoirs to receive the material separated by the washer and may be provided with valves to control the flow of the material out of the said chambers.

In the lowermost portion of the drum 21 are provided a number of horizontally extending outlets 95. In the drawings two outlets have been shown though it can be readily comprehended that four or any other number of outlets may be employed. These outlets are adapted to discharge into a case 55 encircling the lowermost portion of drum 21. Case 88, similar to case 84, is attached to the uprights I3 and I4. The case 96 has'an inwardly turned lip 91 at the uppermost portion thereof which prevents splashing of the material deposited into the same. The lowermost portion of the case 98 is constructed with a hopper 98 which directs the material discharged into the said case to a position below the base of the framework I8. At the lower end of this hopper is provided a conveyor 99 which is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1 and which may be constructed similarly to the conveyor 45. This conveyor serves to elevate the material discharged into the hopper 38 outwardly from the machine and to any desired locality. Inasmuch as the conveyors l5 and 98 may be driven by any suitable means, such as is now well known in the art, such structures have not been illustrated in this application.

The outlets in drum 21 are adapted to be closed by means of Valves IUI. These valves are mounted on spindles |82 guided for movement along guides |83, secured to the bottom 29 of drum 21. The valves II are operated in the fol-- lowing manner.

Pivotally secured to a bracket |54, mounted on the cross frame member l5, is a lever |85 which rejects outwardly beyond the machine to a position where the same may be manipulated by the operator. This lever extends above the shaft I1 and has pivoted to its inner end a rod ido extends through the bore of shaft extension 23 and through the bore 26 of shaft i1 and has secured to the lowermost endtherecf a circular rack iol. Rack it? is adapted to mesh with two pinions |538, rotatably mounted on shafts liill, secured to two spaced plates i attached to shaft il. The two pinions Ita project through openings H2 in the shaft il and are rotated as the rod Het is reciprocated through swinging of lever |95. The two pinions 08 mesh with two gears il 3 similarly mounted between the plates lil, which gears mesh with two racks H4 slidable between the plates l and guided for movement at their outer ends in guides l 5. rThe racks Ml, gears M3 and |68 and the plates are all disposed within the chamber itil. These racks are pivoted to the ends of levers H6 which in turn are pivoted on bearings H7 attached to the outer surface of the wall 23 of drum 2. The

spindles |ti2 of valves lill through the outlets 95 and are the levers iid. that, when the extend outwardly in turn pivoted to It will thus be comprehended gears H3 are rotated, the said spindles are reciprocated longitudinally and the i valves el are moved from opening to closing position and vice versa. When the material within the bottom of the hopper 2li is to be discharged the lever its is moved downwardly which raises the rod tilt and the circular rack mi. This rotates the gears ite and H3 so that the racks lill move inwardly and move the valves lill away from the outlets 95.

The Various tubes di, 82 and 83, similar to the outlets Siti are controlled by valves iii, lf2 and i223. These valves are constructed similarly to the valves itt and are guided for movement in the same manner. For operating these valves cam bars IM are employed which are mounted for reciprocation in guides |25, secured to the interior of the wall 23 of drum 2l. These bars have cams |26 thereon which pass through the spindles 27 of the said valves and serve to move the said valves inwardly to open the passageway through the various tubes m, d2 and 83. said valves are closed by means of springs which are compressed by the cams E25 when the cam rod l2@ is operated. The valves mi, |22 and |23 are preferably arranged in groups and a cam rod l2@ used for each group, groups as there are valves lill. Inasmuch as the mechanism for operating each valve rod is identical only that used in conjunction with one rod will be described. This cam rod is operated in the following manner.

At the uppermost portion of the drum 2l is a rock shaft E28. xThis rock sha-ft is journalled in bearings its attached to the cover of the said drum. The ends of the said rock shaft have attached to them cranks itl and |32. Crank |32 is pivoted to the cam rod |241, while the crank iti has pivoted to it a link itt. Link |33 is in turn pivoted to one arm of a bell crank i3d which is itself pivoted to a bracket |35 secured to the exterior of the wall 28 of drum 2l. The other The.

there being as many arm of this bell crank is pivoted to the lever lili previously referred to. It will become apparent that, when the said lever is swung about its pivot, the linkage connected therewith operates to reciprocate the rod il'll and to open and close the various valves controlled thereby- The drum 27 is driven by means of a shaft itl which is journalled in two bearings l 152 and |43 secured to the cross frame member |2. Shaft |ll| extends through the hopper 9.8 and is provided at its inner end with a bevel gear itil. This bevel gear meshes with another bevel gear |45 mounted on shaft Il. The bevel gear U35 is attached by means of bolts itt to the false bottom Ml previously referred to. The cylindrical wall i658 extends somewhat below the false bottom |41 to provide a skirt M9 adapted to overreach a housing i di enclosing the gearing |44, |45 and the bearing i9, previously referred to. B-y means of this construction these parts are protected from the material passing through the gravel washer. A pulley H52, mounted on the outer end of the shaft lili, serves to transmit power to the said shaft for operating the drum 2l.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Drum 2l is initially rotated and continues to rotate throughout the operation of the gravel washer. When gravel is to be washed the various valves are closed by manipulation of lever |ii5. While the drum is rotating water is nest directed into the funnel :i2 from the pipe 5i, until the water flows over the top of the drum through the space il and into the case A batch of gravel to be washed is next delivered by means of the measuring device 5t to the conveyor |35. This conveyor discharges the gravel into the spout 55 from which the same is discharged by gravity into the funnel and into the interior of the drum 2l. Upon the gravel reaching the interior of the drum the same is given circular motion through rotation of the drum and separation of the finer particles from the coarse particles through the action of centrifugal force is produced. As the gravel and water continue to rotate, the finer particles to be removed from the gravel rise upwardly and the gravel itself remains at the bottorn of the drum iii. As rotation occurs the fine particles of material to be removed from the gravel pass through the various passageways 74,

the drum along the passageway 63 and through the passageway di from which the same overflows the sides of the drum and escapes into the case 3ft. After the machine has been maintained in operation with the charge of water and the batch of gravel within the same for a relatively short length of time, the lever i *5 is manually manipulated to open all of the valves. rf'he ne material collected in the various receptacles 5t, 5d and 58 is immediately discharged through the tubes 8|, S2 and 83 and flows into the chambers 23, il@ and 9i From these chambers the said materials may be drained through the pipes litt, itl, and |38 to any desired locality. The gravel, upon opening of the valves l@ l, is discharged outwardly through the outlets S5 and into the case et from which the saine discharges into the hopper 98 and is carried from the machine by means of the conveyor il. After all of the water and gravel, as well the material separated therefrom, has been discharged from the machine through centrifugal force, the various valves are again closed and the operation repeated. It will be noted that the valves are operated during rotation of the drum so that it becomes unnecessary to stop the drum.

While my improved gravel washing and silt grading machine may be used for removing undesirable foreign material from gravel, the same may also be used to extract from gravel materials foreign thereto and which bear certain metals.

For this purpose I utilize the three passageways at the uppermost portion of the drum and into which the material removed from the gravel is discharged so that grading of the material so separated may be had.

I have found that my machine operates most advantageously under ordinary conditions at a speed between eighty and one hundred sixty revolutions per minute. I have also found that under ordinary circumstances complete separation of the foreign material from the gravel may be procured in about one minute to three minutes after the gravel has been discharged into the drum.

The advantages of my invention are manifest. An extremely simple and practical construction is produced by means of which the finer particles of foreign matter mixed with gravel may be separated therefrom. At the time of separation of such materials from the gravel the material so separated is also graded as to neness. With my invention the various valves controlling the discharge of the gravel and the material separated therefrom may be simultaneously operated without stopping the operation of the drum. With my invention separation of foreign material from batches of gravel may be accomplished quickly and without loss of time. Due to the fact that the drum rotates continuously, loss of power, due to starting and stopping of the drum is greatly reduced so that a minimum amount of power is necessary to continuously operate my improved gravel washer. By the use of the several containers within the interior of the upper portion of the drum for separating the foreign material from the gravel the parts may be taken apart for cleaning and repair without great ldifculty.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gravel washer, a vertical revoluble drum having an outer wall in the form of of a figure of revolution, a neck extending downwardly into the uppermost portion of the drum and concentric therewith, means within the drum forming an annular surface concentric with the surface of the neck, said surface being disposed inwardly of the inner surface of the drum and having a plurality of openings therein disposed one above the other, said neck forming in conjunction with said means an annular constricted passageway communicating with said openings.

2. In a gravel washer, a vertical revoluble drum, a neck in the upper portion of the drum extending downwardly into the drum, means for introducing gravel and water into the neck, separating means disposed within the upper portion of said drum in the space between said drum and neck, said separating means throughout the major portion thereof being spaced from said neck to provide a vertical passageway and at the upper portion thereof extending up to said neck to close said passageway, said separating means including a number of horizontal passageways communicating with said vertical passageway and arranged at different elevations, said horizontal passageways serving to separate the various materials suspended in the water within said vertical passageway, and means for removing from said separating means the material separated thereby, said means extending through said drum.

3. In a gravel washer, a vertical revoluble drum, a neck in the upper portion of the drum extending downwardly into the drum, means for introducing gravel and water into the neck, separating means disposed within the upper portion of said drum in the space between said drum and neck, said separating means being spaced from said neck to provide a vertical passageway, said separating means having a number of horizontal passageways communicating with the vertical passageway and situated one above the other to separate the materials suspended in the water Within the vertical passageway, said separating means being spaced from said drum to provide a water passageway between said separating means and drum, and means for leading the water out of said passageway through the upper portion of the drum.

4. In a gravel washer, a vertical revoluble drum, a neck in the upper portion of the drum extending downwardly into the drum, means for introducing gravel and water into the neck, separating means disposed within the upper portion of said drum in the space between said drum and neck, said separating means being spaced from said neck to provide a vertical passageway, said separating means having a number of horizontal passageways communicating with the vertical passageway and situated one above the other to separate the materials suspended in the water within the vertical passageway, said separating means being spaced from said drum to provide a water passageway between said separating means and drum, and a cover for said drum spaced from said separating means, said cover falling short of said neck to provide an outlet for leading the water passing through said last named passageway and above said separating means outwardly from said drum.

5. In a gravel washer, a vertical revoluble drum, a neck in the upper portion of the drum extending downwardly into the drum, means for introducing gravel and water into the neck, separating means disposed within the upper portion of said drum in the space between said drum and neck, said separating means throughout the major portion thereof being spaced from said neck to provide a vertical passageway, said separating means including a cover extending up to said neck and closing the uppermost portion of said vertical passageway, said separating means having a number of horizontal passageways communicating with the vertical passageway and situated one above the other to separate the materials suspended in the water within the vertical passageway, said separating means being spaced from said drum to provide a water passageway between said separating means and drum, and a cover for said drum spaced from the cover of said separating means to form a passageway therebetween, said second named cover falling short of the neck to provide an outlet for discharging water therefrom passing through said passageway between the separating means and drum and between said covers.

ANNUN HALVORSON. 

